More finished blocks & a Giveaway too!

This evening I managed to get this block sewed up.
The name of this one is Rocky Road to California,or
Cali as Gil calls it.
Thinking that I  will make 2 more of this particular block.

These are both star flower blocks,which I needed to practice
before attempting to make again for Sarah for this month in
The Sew Bee Blissful bee.
So I killed two birds with one stone,so to speak.  Although
my fabrics don't make it look much like a flower.  I now
know how to construct the block,and have two more blocks
for Gil's quilt!

Two more for Gil,which brings my total to 17 blocks!

Now for the giveaway part of the post!

I made up these three little Micro blocks last night.  I
included "The Grim Ripper" in the photo to give an idea
of the actual size of the blocks.

How and what do you win???

The How...
Leave me a comment as to what you think these tiny lil
blocks are going to be used for.

The What you will win...
A fat quarter of Riley Blake's Fly a kite
and the book Crochet Bouquet!

Anyone can enter!

* BUT*
if you are a No Reply Blogger make SURE to leave me a
way to contact you in your comment.

Open to international peeps too :)

If there are no correct guesses Mr. Random will pick the
winner ;)

Giveaway open through March 5th,winner announced on the 6th!

Good Luck/Happy Guessing :)

A few blocks

One of the two most recent blocks for Gil's
quilt.
I like the block,but not so sure about the
fabric combo.

This one I really like!

Finally finished the other three mug rugs that I was making
up for "V" Day!  They all turned out good,but the bottom
one is my fave of these three.

My fabric purchase from the LQS in Taos NM.  Love the
southwest prints.  As if you couldn't tell that I Love,love,
love,Kokopelli!  The top print just called my name,so it
had to come home with me too :)

The rolled up fabric remnant is for making blocks
for Gil's quilt.

Lastly,all 10 of my blocks for the QAL.
Which is almost over,only two more blocks
go!

These are all so busy,I am going to have to
add some solid sashing to break it up a bit!
Also I need to make a decision on the block
layout.  Have narrowed it down to two
different ones.  Now to decide which one.

A few "old" quilts

Just a few Quilty related photos from my long weekend
getaway.

Above is a photo  of the LQS in Taos NM,I was a "very
good girl",because I only bought 4 FQ's and a remnant to
use in Gil's quilt!

These two quilts are on display in one of the Museums we
visited.

Close up of the quilt on the right.

I really love the fabrics and the design of this quilt.  There
was no information on any of the quilts,so its anyone's
guess as to their age.  My guess is maybe the 1930's.

Love all the HST's in this one!  Also the color.

This one was in the same room as the one above.  I am not a
big fan of basket quilts,but I do like this one :)

Thats all I got for tonight,hope you enjoyed the "old quilts"!

Long Weekend

Mr. P and I are running away for a long weekend!  Hope you all have a
wonderful weekend yourselves :)  See you next week.

Love Notes & Heart Strings Table Mat

When I found out that Melissa over at Sew Bitter Sweet
Designs was going to have a Valentine's Day Showcase I
decided to make something!
The idea for this table mat started forming in my mind.  The
name came to me before the actual design.  I knew that the
name would be Love Notes & Heart Strings :)

So with the name in mind along came the design,the only
thing I wasn't sure of was how to add the heart strings.
However it came to me while working on the envelopes for
the Love Notes part!

The back side!
I even finished it on time to enter :)

There was one envelope left over from the table mat,that is
going to become a little pouch in the very near future!

Make sure to check out the link above for lots of sweet
valentine projects!

You make my Heart Spin Valentine Mug Rug

Happy Anniversary Bebe!
Yes I know it is Valentines Day,however it is also mine and
Mr. P's wedding anniversary today :)

Would you like some coffee and cinnamon macaroons for
desert???  Mr. P did ;)

I have 3 more of the center squares made up,one is like this
one,except the heart is a little different.  The other 2 are made
from different fabrics.  Now to get them finished like this one!

I also finished another sewing project but that is tomorrows
post  ;)

In other sewing news I also finished my bee blocks for Stash Bee
for this month.
However I Screwed up big time on my blocks for Sew Bee Blissful! :(
Sarah the queen for this month was very sweet and is sending me
more fabric.  I feel so Horrible about it tho!!!  So much so that I have
even thought about dropping out,but that would not be fair to
the rest of my bee mates.  So I am hoping and praying that I Do
Not mess up again!

Every time I start a new queens blocks I get nervous,the only
time I don't is when using my own fabric to make the blocks.

Is this just me???

Happy Valentines Day :+)

Whew!

This is what I did from around 3:30-9:00 this afternoon and
evening.
We are having our first bake sale for Climb to Conquer
Cancer,which will be at the end of April this year.
Hope it all sells :)

Gil's quilt blocks...

These six blocks are the latest ones for the quilt I am
working on for Gil.
I was able to get five of them done this weekend,the sixth one
was finished after dinner this evening.

Here are all ten that are done so far.  I need to sit down and
work out  the math for the total number of blocks needed.
I am thinking it will be around 26.

Linking up with Manic Monday over at SewHappyGeek

Flying geese quilt block & S~crappy tutorial

This morning I got up early this morning to work on some
sewing.
The above photo is my Flying Geese block for the
sew,happy.,quilt.QAL

After making my block there were all these little triangle
pieces left.
What to do with them???

S~crappy Pincushion Tutorial

First,take all those triangles and chain piece them together.

Press the seams toward the darker fabric.

Next,trim all those little ears that are sticking out at the corners
off.

Lay out your squares to make sure that the placement is
correct.

Take your two top pieces and sew them together.

Press your seam to the outside.
Repeat with the two bottom squares.

This is what they will look like.
Now sew the top and bottom together.

Finished block,all squared up.  Depending on the size of
your scraps,and finished block,you can decide what size to
square your block to.
Mine is 5 inches square.

Don't worry if your points do not match in the center,we
will be placing a button here that will hide that!

Now we need to decide on the fabric for the back side of
our pincushion.  Since I am scrap busting my backing
fabric came from the scrap bin.

Place your square and backing fabric right sides together,
and sew.  Making sure to leave a 3-4 inch opening.
This is for turning and stuffing purposes.

Trim off the excess backing fabric.

You will also want to trim off all the corners.
(the tiny pieces in photo)

Now turn your pincushion right side out.

I use a little dowel with a pointed end to poke out the corners.
These come in every bag of poly fiberfil that I buy.  Some
brands do not add these though.  So use whatever you have
on hand.  

Here it is all turned and pressed.

Next you will need to use something to stuff this little guy
with.  I used poly fiberfil.  The amount depends on how
"stuffed" you like your pincushion.

All stuffed.
After stuffing you can either hand sew the opening closed,
or use the machine.
This one I hand sewed.   The other ones I sewed on the
machine.

Now for the center button.
You will need a package of buttons that you can cover
with fabric,and another scrap of fabric.
Alternately you can use a regular button.

My finished/covered button.  There are easy to follow
instructions on the package.

For this step you will need very strong thread,or if you don't
have any,just double up your regular thread.
Start at the back in the center and insert your needle.

Wrap the thread around the button shank a couple times
before running the needle back through the pincushion.

Button sewn on and tied off at the back!

So there you have it!
A (4) S~crappy pincushion (s)!!!

Pretzel Bites,Sunflower Butter & Squishie mail too!

Have you ever thought about making your own Pretzel Bites?
NO?  Well I have,but never found a recipe that I
wanted to try.  That is until yesterday evening!
This evening instead of heading down the hall to sew I
stayed in the kitchen and whipped up these (photo above).

Mine turned out flatish on the bottom,and baked more on
the bottom.  The top is supposed to get golden brown,however
since my oven and I have a love/hate relationship that did not
happen.  (see right side of photo)  So half way through the
recommended baking time I turned over the Pretzels on the
second cookie sheet.  (left side of photo) so they look
more like bagel bites.  They taste great tho!
You can find the recipe at lifesblessons blog 

Are you one of those people who do Not like Peanut Butter?
It just so happens that I am.  Usually I make my own
Almond Butter,but a while back Karen from Oh My
Gluten Free Goodness,and (Sew Much 2 Luv) posted a
Recipe  for Sunflower Butter.  I have been wanting to give it a
try.
So I did.  Let me just say that I really like it A Lot!  I  just
happened to have a bag of roasted,salted sunflower seeds in
the pantry that I used instead of roasting my own.  So I
cheated a little bit,but who cares anyway,right?
Let me tell you that if you make either Almond or
sunflower butter yourself,as opposed to buying it at the store,
the savings are Huge!

Squishie Mail!
Yesterday I received 3 packages in the mail,Oh happy day :)
This Sweet little snowman block is my last one from the
Christmas Block Swap I participated in.
I Love it!  Mr. P loved the cute and yummy goodies that
came with it ;)

The second package is my twill measuring tape trim.  I
took advantage of the discounts during the After Christmas
Sew Along,for these little trims.  Not sure what they will be
going on yet,but I will think of something :)

My third package was from the Zipit shop
also on etsy.  They were another sponsor
that offered a discount!  So I now have 25
pretty new zippers.  The cool thing is that
I also received a sweet lil zipper pull for free!

That's all Ive got.  Hope you all have a
super weekend!
I am off to dig into those Pretzel bites,and some
Sunflower Butter too ;0)